


Bait & Switch

by Boejangles



Category: Naruto
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), F/F, F/M, Female Uzumaki Naruto, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rape/Non-con Elements, Slow Burn, Suicide Attempt, Torture, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:01:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23557255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boejangles/pseuds/Boejangles
Summary: At the tender age of six, Naruto learns what a monster truly is. A monster is a man in a bear mask that comes at night and teaches her what pain is. A monster is a nightmare come to life blurring the lines between reality and illusions. A monster is a man that takes and destroys until the only escape is death.She chose death...but didn't die.Instead, she met a boy that had his own monster; only he planned to kill his.That was a solution she hadn't thought of. Kill the monster. She liked that option a lot. Now she only needed to convince him to teach her how.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 11
Kudos: 64





	Bait & Switch

**Author's Note:**

> Don't assume Canon, there are altered character pasts, character motivations, and new lore added to the world. In other words this may end up being a wild ride, because I have taken the Naruto universe and shaken it like a snow globe. And no not all the changes are in tags, because I like to surprise my readers.
> 
> This story includes trauma and abuse of physical, mental, emotional, and sexual nature. As well as depictions of mental instability and suicide. Be forewarned there will be graphic scenes that may be triggering to some. If you are worried about some of the content, but want to read the story message me and I can warn you of scenes to avoid and give you a quick summary of what happened so you don't need to read that scene. Again, I won't be putting trigger warnings within chapters because I don't want to change the flow of the story, but if you are concerned let me know and I will tell you what to avoid.
> 
> **Chapter titles are songs that are part of the playlist I listen to when I am writing. There is a quote from the song under the chapter title. I recommend listening to the songs (make sure you have the right artist as some of the songs are covers with a very different feel).**

**Chapter One: Every Breath You Take**

“ _Oh can't you see, you belong to me...Every move you make. Every vow you break. Every smile you fake. Every claim you stake. I'll be watching you.”_

_\- Every Breath you Take by Chase Holfelder_

Naruto first met the monster of her nightmares on the eve of her sixth birthday. Up until then she had been well shielded from the evils of the world. The closest to evil she came was glares and harsh whispers as she walked through town or the kids that refused to play with her and called her names.

But overall, Naruto had been a happy child. She sometimes questioned why she lived all alone with only the company of her masked animals and the old man that brought her food. However, she wasn't all that upset about it. That was just how it had always been. She had food, clean clothes, and even got a new toy every year on her birthday. So what if she played with them alone?

She didn't know was this birthday changed everything.

Naruto didn't know that six years of age was the earliest a child was allowed to enter the academy. Or that as a ward of Konoha she was required to enter the academy at the earliest possible date. Or that entering the academy made her a shinobi. Or that as a shinobi she would no longer be under the care of the Hokage, but that of the council. Or that all of that compiled to her losing her ANBU masked animals as the council had already decreed it was a waste of resources.

No, there was quite a lot that Naruto did not know about that night.

However, when she was stirred from her dreams by a firm hand shaking her shoulder, it was about to become a night that she would never forget.

-/-

Bleary blue eyes squished tighter together as a small fist came to rub at her eyes. Once they blinked open, a look of sleepy confusion morphed into a bright smile. One of her masked animals had come to see her. That was a surprise as they normally only appeared when she was in town or when something mysteriously broke in her home.

The figure was vaguely illuminated by the moon and she could make out the bear mask facing her.

“Ano, Bear-san why are you waking me up?” her voice came out hoarse still laced with sleep. A slender silver cuff with a shiny gold hinge was held out towards her as response.

“Ooo! A bracelet! For my birthday?” Naruto asked eagerly. When she was met with a nod her hand shot forward to accept the gift. Rather than pass her the bracelet, Bear gently grasped her hand before securing the cuff around her wrist. Naruto moved to admire the intricate design on the shiny silver surface. Her actions were halted as the figure held a firm grip on her wrist.

The blonde let out a small laugh and was getting ready to ask why he was holding her hand when she was forced to blink rapidly at the sudden movement. She saw the kunai protruding from either side of her hand before her mind was able to register the pain.

It felt like time slowed and seconds stretched to hours as she stared wide eyed in shock as blood flowed from her hand onto her bedspread before a scream tore up her throat and filled the room. She would never be able to accurately recall how long she screamed jerking violently at her wrist before the figure in the bear mask pulled the kunai out in a swift movement.

As the blade left her hand with significantly more pain than going in, the blonde lurked forward and puked all over her blankets. Her hacking and coughing echoed off the walls accompanied only by the sounds of dripping blood. Tear filled eyes looked up at the bear mask. The man still held a firm grip on her wrist and gave a quick tug to bring the hand closer to the mask.

“Puh..please, Bear-san it hurts. Please.” She wasn't even sure what she was asking except that she wanted the pain to stop. Her pleas were met with the release of her wrist. She quickly cradled the hand to her chest as if that would protect it and cause the pain to lessen.

When the figure reached out for her again she screamed and winced to the side preparing for more pain. She felt the outstretched hand brush against her injured extremity and let out another terrified scream. She slowly opened eyes that had closed in panic to find an empty room. Looking down at her hand as if expecting another wound, she only saw the still bleeding hole through her palm. A hole that she just realized she could see her bedspread through.

That was her final thought as blue eyes rolled upward and she slumped forward in her bed.

-/-

Sunlight filtered through the window as a freshly turned six year old bolted upright in bed. A sheen of sweat clung to her skin as she took in deep breaths and held her hand up to her face.

Naruto blinked slowly flipping her hand to examine both the back and palm. There was absolutely no sign of the wound from the night before. She looked down at the blankets and searched for blood. There wasn't a drop. She closed her eyes and breathed in and out slowly before opening them again to make sure that she was actually seeing her room.

Had it been a dream?

Naruto got up on shaky legs. She had never had a dream that felt so real before. Why would she dream of one of her masked animals hurting her? It didn't make sense to her.

She ended up settling into the table with a frown on her face as she poked at her cereal. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

A smile took over her face as she remembered that it was her birthday. She ran to the door and swung it open. “Jiji!” she hollered as she jumped up to be caught in the older man's arms.

The Hokage chuckled as he lifted Naruto into the air and bounced her several times. “Good morning and happy birthday, Naru-chan,” his voice was warm as he chuckled softly, “I cannot stay long, but I brought you a very special present for a very special birthday.”

Naruto squealed softly at being thrown into the air before being caught. She grinned as she wrapped her arms around the Hokage's neck and hugged him tightly. It was enough to push the nightmare to the back of her mind.

“Thank you!” she exclaimed happy enough that he had simply come to wish her happy birthday. Blue eyes looked up curiously as her feet met with the ground once more. “Why is this a special birthday?”

A hand reached down and ruffled blonde hair affectionately. “Well Naru-chan, you are six years old now, which means that you get to start at the Academy.”

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise that quickly morphed into excitement. She began bouncing up and down clapping her hands. “Really?! Really!? Really?!”

“Yes, really,” Sarutobi laughed out at the exuberant girl, “Which is why I have a special present for you.”

The little girl stopped jumping at the second mention of a gift. “What is it? Can I see?” Her questions were answered by a bag roughly the size of her torso being extended out to her. Naruto happily took the bag and quickly tore out the paper to look inside. Her gift was a soft gray and orange back pack filled with all the supplies she would need for her first year at the Academy. She took time to carefully examine each item with varying amounts of awe.

Blue eyes were crinkled shut in joy. “Thank you, Jiji, I love it!”

The Hokage ruffled blonde hair once again with a smile on his lips. “I'm glad, Naru-chan. You are going to make a marvelous kunoichi. I'm trusting you to study hard in class and do your best.”

“Of course!” she exclaimed quickly, “I am going to study so hard and be the best kunoichi ever!”

Face softening to something that held just a hint of sadness, the Hokage sighed. “There is something else I need to talk to you about.” When blue eyes blinked up at him in question, he continued. “Since you'll be entering the Academy tomorrow some things are going to change. I'm not going to be able to come visit you anymore, because as Hokage I can't show favoritism.”

Naruto frowned slightly. She didn't really understand what he was saying besides he wasn't going to see her anymore. “I don't understand...”

“You can always come to me if you need anything, but you'll have to come see me at the Hokage tower. I know this doesn't make much sense right now, but it will when you are older.” The older man sighed again longing for his pipe. Trying to bring back the young girls smile, he quickly added, “for now, any questions about the Academy?”

By the time that the old man had to leave, Naruto had gleamed that most of the kids would be her age, but some could be a bit older. That as excited as she was to learn cool jutsu, her first year was mostly going to be classwork. But most importantly of all, that she would be starting tomorrow bright and early.

Before he left, the Hokage had handed her an envelope of money and explained that since she was old enough to start training as a ninja that she was old enough to start learning how to budget and shop for herself. She was a little confused at the concept, but was excited to be treated like an adult.

It was only when she had climbed into bed for the night that her thumb subconsciously rubbed over her palm where she had been convinced that there had been a hole.

-\\-

Naruto was up before the sun had time to peek over the horizon. Equal parts do to excitement and the fact every time she entered a deep enough sleep she woke up panting and in need of reassurance there wasn't a kunai in her hand.

Not wanting to risk closing her eyes again and being late, she slid out of bed intent on a shower and the last of her cereal. With the soap she attempted to wash away any lingering thoughts on what just had to be a bad nightmare.

Naruto bit her lip in nerves as she entered the quiet Academy. She half wondered if she was supposed to wait outside and hoped that she wouldn't be in trouble on her first day. Eyes landing on the room number Jiji had told her was her homeroom, she slowly slid the door open.

Inside a young man with soft brown eyes looked up from a stack of papers he had been reading over. He appeared surprised to see a child in the door and not another instructor.

Dropping into a quick bow, Naruto was quick to say, “good morning, Sensei. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, your new student. Please take care of me.”

There was a pause that last just on the other side of being comfortable. Then a hurried a, “ah, um, welcome. You are early, but you can take a seat.” A shorter pause as Naruto righted herself and nodded. “You can call me Iruka-sensei.”

“Thank you, Iruka-sensei.” The blonde smiled brightly warmth filling her words. She looked around, before picking a seat by the window where she could see the birds in the tree outside.

Naruto wasn't sure how much time had passed staring out the window mindlessly rubbing her thumb against her palm before a frown marred her face. “Neh, Iruka-sensei, can you feel pain in your dreams?”

Iruka looked startled by the sudden question. “No, you don't feel pain in dreams,” his voice seemed unsteady like he hadn't quite made up his mind if he was going to talk or not, “that's why people pinch themselves to makes sure they are awake.”

That answer only troubled Naruto's thoughts more. She had definitely felt pain, it had hurt worse than any injury she had before. “So, if I felt pain it was real?”

The teacher had turned his attention back to his papers finishing the plan for the day. “Hm, what was real?”

“Someone stabbed a kunai through my hand last night.” She emphasized her point by poking at her palm.

Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, Iruka took a hard look at Naruto. “Your hand is fine. You must have imagined it.” And with that his attention was back on the papers. Giving them a nod, he stood. “You can stay here, others should be arriving shortly.” He left the room before she could point out the contradiction in there being no pain in dreams but insisting it wasn't real.

Naruto slumped down in her chair and let her head fall to the table. Thinking about it was hurting her head. Her hand was fine and your hand can't just grow back. Just a bad dream then.

“That's my seat.”

Naruto jumped in the chair whirling around to see a dark haired boy with even darker eyes staring at her. She quickly got up scratching the back of her head. “Sorry, I didn't realize. This is my first day. Uzumaki Naruto,” her voice rose from sheepish to cheerful as she extended out her hand in greeting.

“Hn,” was the only response. The boy slid into the vacated chair and turned his attention away from her and to the window she had been staring out previously.

Her hand dropped to her side as her smile slid off her face. Well she could only hope that her other classmates were friendlier.

…

They weren't.

-/-

The day had seemed to drag on or maybe it just seemed longer because it wasn't anything like she had expected. Iruka-sensei had ignored her raised hand over and over until he said questions would be answered after the lesson, but then never got to it leaving her utterly confused. She would have been more worried if Jiji hadn't encouraged her the day prior saying that the first year was more of a head start than anything since students filtered in throughout the year.

Speaking of students, not a single one of them had wanted to be her friend. Naruto didn't know if it was because she was the new kid or if it was something about her. She ended up spending lunch alone and hungry because she didn't realize she needed to pack a lunch.

So she spent the day alone, confused, and hungry.

A sigh of relief left her lips as she slid her key into the front door. Her door closed with a thud as she allowed her head to fall back against the wood. The day had been draining to say the least.

Naruto pushed off the door with the intent to change into her pajamas and eat a cup of ramen. Her steps halted as feet entered her downward gaze. Blue eyes slid upward and widened at the sight of the bear mask belonging to figure sitting on her bed. A startled sound of surprise escaped her lips and she knew in that instant it wasn’t a dream.

Feet turned quickly as she rushed for the door all of her focus on fleeing the room. Her hand grasped the doorknob as a firm hand slammed against the door and she was pushed roughly into the hard wood.

Panic filled her being and she began to scream, “Help! Help! Someone help me! Hel-mph...”

Naruto kicked out wildly struggling against the arm pulling her away from the door as her hand grabbed and scratched at the hand covering her mouth. The hand was so much bigger than hers. She couldn’t breathe. The top of the hand was pushed firmly against her nose stopping any air from getting in.

Her struggling increased tenfold as her survival instinct kicked in and she fought to stay alive. It wasn’t enough. She couldn’t overpower the figure holding her. Slowly and then quite suddenly her struggling stopped and she hung limply in the others arms.

-/-

Naruto woke to the feeling of something wet brushing against her face. A small groan left her lips provoked by the dull ache between her ears. As the wet object moved again she remembered why she was waking up. She was attacked. Bear. Bear was in her home again.

Blue eyes snapped open in a panic as a scream tore up her throat; no words just a guttural noise of fear and desperation.

The bear mask was bent over her way too close to her face. She wanted it to go away. Naruto grabbed up at the mask and attempted to push it away from her.

“Don’t move,” the voice was calm if not slightly distorted. It held a finality to it. Like it was expecting total cooperation.

Like hell.

Growling in frustration that her pushing didn’t move the mask away, she averted her actions to the eye holes with the intent to gouge.

The figure shook their head slightly and then a hand was on her right wrist holding it to the floor and a second was on her right shoulder near her neck. With a quick movement a loud ‘pop’ was heard.

The pain was blinding and for a moment all Naruto could see was white. A howl of pain filled the apartment as the six year old clutched at her shoulder. Her legs were kicking against the floor as if she pounded them hard enough the pain would end.

As a hand gripped her left wrist and pulled it away from her shoulder and onto the floor, eyes that had been squeezed tight shut with tears opened wide in absolute fear.

“No, no, no no. I won’t move, please no!” she half screamed half pleaded as a hand was placed on her left shoulder. When another loud pop rang out it was apparent that her pleas and tears had no effect. Naruto screamed around her sobs as both her arms lay motionless at her sides.

“One warning. Obey or you’ll be made to.” The voice had that finality to it again. It wasn’t a threat or a promise, it was simply fact.

When a hand gripped her head, Naruto whimpered but forced herself not to pull away. She noticed as she attempted to stay very, very still, that the wet movement on her face was a brush. Confusion filtered through her eyes. Why was Bear painting her face?

A few minutes passed with Naruto chanting ‘don’t move’ over and over in her head. She slowly reigned in her shuddering breaths as the pain in her shoulders died away. She did her best to keep her thoughts away from the fact she couldn’t feel either of her arms. Teeth bit down on the inside of her lower lip to keep from asking why Bear was here or what they were doing, cause she was pretty sure that talking would be moving.

“Close your eyes.” Blue eyes immediately snapped shut at the command. The owner of said eyes did not want to find out how one would be ‘made to’ close their eyes. As images of her eyes being gouged out or her eyelids being sewn to her cheeks filtered through her mind, Naruto did her best to fight against her flinch instinct when the brush stroked close to her eyes and then on her eyelids.

She lost sense of time as she focused on her breaths, which had proven to be the best method to flinch the least, and therefore wasn’t sure how much time had passed before the painting stopped. Naruto had to bite down so hard on her bottom lip she was sure it would bleed to fight the urge to peek open an eye to see what was going on. Enough time passed that she was losing the battle against her six year old curiosity. Just as she began to peek open her left eye, three things happened so quickly it may as well have happened at once: hands pushed against her face covering both eyes, Bear said ‘seal’, and pain shot through every nerve receptor in her body.

Screams echoed off the walls of the apartment. Naruto thrashed against the floor. Her head violently twisting from side to side sending blonde hair flying. Every part of her was fighting against the pain raging in her body with the exception of her motionless arms.

The pain in her eyes was the worse. It felt like they were melting. It was burning and stabbing and pulsing all at once. Then, just as suddenly, the pain stopped. Her breathing was labored pants and gasped hiccups. Her chest heaved as her body shook. She could hear her heart racing. Pure adrenaline was coursing through her veins keeping her conscious.

Naruto blinked her eyes open needing to assure herself that they were still there. That they hadn’t in fact melted out of her skull. She was met with black. Blinking and trying again, no change. She was blind. Bear had blinded her. Another scream left her lips, but it was hoarse and nowhere near as powerful. The sound stopped abruptly when a hand smacked against the side of her face with enough force to bounce her head against the floor and bust her lip.

“Enough,” it was cold and commanding.

Naruto licked at the blood inside her mouth. She couldn’t figure out why Bear had stabbed her through the hand and then came back to blind her in an incredibly painful way.

A hand moved against her chest accompanied by the sound of a zipper. The thought of her jacket being removed shocked her mouth into action before she could think better of it,“What are you doing?” She instantly tensed prepared for another smack.

A small chuckle was heard, whether at her reaction or her question Naruto could not be sure. The hand did not stop its movement as the zipper was pulled completely down. “One more seal.”

The word ‘seal’ echoed in Naruto’s mind. Blue unseeing eyes widened in horror. That’s the word she had heard before the pain. The pain that was worse than anything she had ever felt in her life. No, she couldn’t do that again.

“No!” she bellowed as loudly as her sore throat could manage. She kicked out blindly hoping to hit her tormentor. “Not again!” Her kicks were frenzied meeting air. Then, something solid. She went to kick again, but couldn’t retract her leg.

Naruto’s breath left her in a huff as a knee planted itself in her stomach. In a sudden movement both of her legs were halted and jerked up and out at a harsh angle. With a resounding ‘pop’ her legs were dropped. The six year old could only manage a choked scream and anguished whimpers.

It was odd, it should have hurt as much as her shoulders, but after whatever ‘seal’ was, it just didn’t.

Naruto could feel herself being moved as her jacket was tugged off of her arms and out from under her. Her shirt followed soon after. She couldn’t fight. Her arms and legs were useless. She couldn’t do anything. She was useless.

A touch of a hand on her navel, a spreading warmth, and then brush strokes.

“Please,” her voice was weak and cracked, barely a whisper, “please not again.” There was no response. Just silence only broken by quiet sniffles and brush movements. A whimpered ‘why’ passed her bloody lips with no expectation of an answer.

Naruto was startled when a knuckle ran down her cheek followed by a soft hum. “I suppose, because you are important.” And then the brush started again.

“Important?” she questioned disbelieving. If she was important, why would he be hurting her?

Her second question was left unanswered as the brush continued to work. The adrenaline died away and in its place was only exhaustion. Her eyelids dropped and she didn’t fight the pull of sleep.

Naruto was forced awake with what felt like a literal shove. Her sleep had been filled with visions of fire, howling winds, giant claws, terrifying teeth, and a growled, ‘don’t let him finish you insufferable, useless, fleshbag!’ at an alarming volume.

It was only a moment before she was reminded that along with her eyes, her arms and legs were useless. How was she supposed to stop him? She doubted that even if she could move that it would make a difference. It was after this thought that she realized that she didn’t feel the brush.

Naruto calmed her breathing and attempted to hear past her heartbeat. There was a slight shift off to her right. The hope that Bear had left died before it had a chance to truly bloom.

She tried one last time, “Please, please, please don’t do this.”

The silence was deafening. Tears filled blue eyes and spilled onto whiskered cheeks. She just wanted it to stop. The sound of the man shifting closer to her and then the ghost of a fingertip along her abdomen. The hand moved away and silence reigned again.

Naruto tensed as soon as hands pressed against her stomach. She screwed her eyes shut a second before the dreaded word was said… “seal.”

Back arching off the ground, head banging into the floor, Naruto’s mouth opened in a scream that refused to leave her throat. She was dying. She was sure of it. This had to be death. And she was choking, there was fluid in her throat and a metal taste on her tongue. She was going to drown on her blood as her body tore itself apart.

She barely registered being turned on her side as she started convulsing. Her body was tensing in quick intervals as a hand held her keeping her on her side. The pain was already unbearable when the force of her convulsing muscles began to snap her bones.

It was too much. Naruto’s brain couldn’t handle it. And thankfully, so very, very thankfully, she plummeted into unconsciousness.

-/-

Blue eyes blinked open sluggishly in a groggy haze. It felt like she was coming up for the first breath after diving into a deep lake. The events of the previous night hit her like a fist to the gut. Bear had come back and hurt her again. It wasn’t a dream. There was no way that torture was a dream.

Startled by realization, Naruto brought her hand up to her face. She could see her hand; she wasn’t blind. She moved both arms and both legs slowly and then swinging them around wildly. She could feel her limbs.

She was...fine? But she really, really wasn't. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she sobbed into her knees. Would he come back again? That thought caused a streak of fear to shot through her body and she whipped her head around searching for Bear to be hiding in a corner.

Her breaths were getting quicker. She had to get out of there. She needed to talk to Jiji. He had to be able to help.

Her feet pounded against the dirt running as quickly as she could. Naruto pushed herself to get to the Hokage tower while forcing back thoughts of what had happened. Every little thought of last night caused her chest to tighten. In her haste she almost ran past the front desk, but a stern shout of ‘stop’ tripped her up.

Naruto managed to catch her footing and avoid tumbling to the floor. “I need to talk to Ji.. the Hokage!” she shouted as she moved to start toward the stairs.

“Do you have an appointment?” the woman’s voice questioned in a tone that implied she knew that the blonde did not in fact have an appointment. Her eyes moved up and down the girl eyeing the pajamas and bare feet thoroughly unimpressed.

“No, but it is a emergency! I was attacked last night and I really need to talk to him!” Naruto persisted all but screaming.

“Well,” the woman began with an exaggerated sigh, “I am sorry that you were attacked, but that is not a matter for the Hokage.” She quickly held up a hand to halt any protests. “You need to report the crime to the Konoha Police Force.”

Naruto bit the inside of her cheek. She really just wanted to see her Jiji and have him fix things. She could feel the tears prickling at her eyes again. “Uhm. Where is that?” she forced herself to asking realizing the woman wouldn't let her up to the Hokage.

“It is right outside the Uchiha compound,” the woman answered as if that should have been obvious before turning back to her papers.

“Right,” Naruto’s voice trailed off. She cast a longing look at the stairs then shook her head and exited the building. She thought about asking random people until someone pointed her in the right direction, but most people seemed to not like talking to her.

Naruto brought her fist down on her palm in an act of triumph. There was an Uchiha in her class. The boy whose seat she had been in was an Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke. He could tell her where the compound was.

Blonde hair flooded her vision as Naruto bent over to catch her breath in front of the academy. She hadn't stopped to put it up. Hell, it took the ache of her feet to tell her that she hadn't paused long enough to grab her shoes before leaving the house.

She bounced from one foot to the other impatiently looking around for the first sign of the boy. Her eye lit up as she spotted Sasuke rounding the corner accompanied by an older boy.

“Hey, Uchiha!” Naruto hollered jumping to her feet and rushing over. When she was met with two questioning gazes she barreled on, “I was hoping you could help me out. I am trying to find the Konoha Police Force and was told it is next to the Uchiha compound.”

The younger boy wrinkled his face up in confusion. “Why do you need the police?”

“Hush now, Sasuke,” the older male admonished poking Sasuke in the forehead. “I am actually heading back to the compound, so I can take you to the station.”

“Really? Thank you,” Naruto replied excitedly. She wasn’t always the best with directions and an escort would save her a lot of time. The run through the village had done a lot to shake off the panic and she was almost feeling level headed.

“Aniki!” Sasuke crossed his arms with a pout. “You said you’d practice shuriken with me before class started.”

“I’m sorry, Sasuke. Another time. I can’t just leave a damsel in distress,” the older male spoke with a soft laugh at the two frowns directed at him. One for being brushed off and the other for being referred to as a damsel in distress. He turned his focus on the young girl. “My name is Itachi, what is your name?”

“Uzumaki Naruto,” she answered casting a glance to where Sasuke was walking away grumbling ‘another time, another time’ under his breath. There was an awkward silence as Naruto shuffled her feet and scratched the back of her head under the weight of Itachi’s eyes. She felt like she was being evaluated but not really sure why. “Uhm, so, the station?”

“Ah, yes. Follow me.” Itachi waved his hand motioning the direction they would be heading in.

The walk took much longer than Naruto had expected. The Uchiha compound seemed to be at the outer edge of the village. But the distance seemed even farther, because Itachi was talking to her. No one really talked to her, she was unpracticed and felt like she was failing. When she talked to Jiji it was mostly just her ranting about everything that had happened the previous month. But talking back and forth? Yeah, not so much.

‘How are you liking the Academy?’, ‘Do you know Sasuke well?’, ‘Oh, well have you made any other friends?’, ‘What do you like to do for fun?’ and on. She felt like he was trying to distract her, probably because when he asked her what was wrong that she needed police help she had brushed it off and said she really didn’t want to talk about it more than she needed to.

Blue eyes lit up at the big building that Itachi had pointed to. She dipped in a bow with a quick ‘thank you Itachi-san!’ before rushing up the steps and into the building. Whipping her head around, Naruto searched for where she should go. As soon as she made eye contact with someone, she zeroed in.

“I was attacked last night, I need help,” her voice betrayed a bit of her anxiety as she rubbed her hands together. She bit the inside of her lip and hoped this man could help her.

The man grimaced, but quickly hid his discomfort. “For that you need to make a report. Sit down and I’ll take your statement.” He opened one of his side drawers and pulled out some files. “Alright, tell me what happened.”

Naruto sat in the chair and let her breath out slowly. She proceed to tell him about coming home from class to Bear in her apartment. How he hurt her arms and legs and made it where she couldn’t move them. How he painted on her and did seal to her and how bad it hurt and then she was blind. She didn’t notice that the man had stopped writing as soon as the word 'seal' left her lips.

“Can you give me a minute? I need to show this to someone and I’ll be right back.” The child nodded as she watched the officer leave. She wondered if this was a good or bad thing. She didn’t have long to think about it before the man returned with an even grumpier looking man.

The grumpy man took a moment to look her up and down before speaking, “I am Commander Uchiha Fugaku, If you could come with me miss Uzumaki.”

-/-

Sarutobi wasn't sure how he expected to spend his morning, but an emergency meeting with the head of the Uchiha clan with the Kyuubi Jinchuriki was definitely not it. He had been more than surprised when the ever collected Fugaku said that there had been a concerning police report by the Uzumaki before ushering said girl in. Naruto had been displeased at being told to explain what happened the night before once again and had grumbled about trying to come see Jiji first, but proceeded never the less.

The Hokage sat back and listened. A man in a bear mask, ANBU? Who on rotation wore the bear? He'd have to look it up later. 'And then he broke my arms with a loud pop and I couldn't use them anymore', sounded more like a dislocation then a break. 'He was painting on my face and then he did seal and it hurt so bad I thought my eyes were melting', a seal on her face? He examined her face from where she was standing, but didn't see any indication of a seal. Though there were plenty that were only activated with chakra. 'And I was so scared when he said he was going to do it again, so I fought really hard. But...then he broke both my legs and I couldn't see anything...I couldn't do anything'.

“It is okay, Naruto, no one is going to hurt you. You are safe here. Please tell me what else happened,” Sarutobi encouraged the girl, giving a glance over to where the Uchiha was still standing with his arms crossed.

The small girl nodded and continued to explain how the man then took off her jacket and shirt to paint on her belly. 'He did seal again and this one hurt so much worse than the first one. I thought that I was dying. But then I woke up in my bed', he would need someone to check on the seal. He would also bring in a Yamanaka to view the memory for any clues as to who the person was. He needed to figure out who it was and what they did.

Wizened eyes moved over to land on the Uchiha. He knew the other could take a look at the seal from the inside, but with the unrest and whispers of a coup he wasn't sure if he should risk it. No, he had to put the village first. “Thank you Uchiha-san, for bringing this to my attention. I will take it from here.”

Fugaku nodded to the Hokage, gave one last look to the blonde girl, and exited the room.

“Now, Naru-chan, would you like a snack?” Sarutobi asked as he rose from his desk. When the girl nodded, he smiled. “Alright, I'll send my assistant to grab us some food. Just wait here for me.”

-/-

Naruto furiously rubbed at her watering eyes. “No! No! You're wrong!” She stomped her foot to emphasize her point. She had been in the Hokage's office for most of the afternoon. The older man had returned to the office with another man that was going to look at her memories or something while she took a nap. It was when she woke up that her Jiji with a sad smile on his face had told her that it had all been a nightmare.

“Calm down, Naru-chan,” the Hokage attempted to soothe, “I can't really explain it to you right now, but Inochi-san looked at your memories and it was definitely a dream. Well a dream of a memory.”

“No!” Naruto shouted pulling away from the old man. “It happened! It was real! Iruka-sensei said you can't feel pain in dreams and there was so much pain. You have to do something. What if he comes back!” She was quickly losing the fight against crying.

Sarutobi looked trouble wondering how to explain to the small child that Inochi's findings were that she was somehow experiencing the sealing that took place at her birth. He would have to send word to Jiraiya to come check on the seal, make sure the fox wasn't leaking.

“This is a good thing, Naru-chan. It wasn't real. It may have seemed real, but it wasn't. And that means that it won't happen again.” He paused, realizing he had no proof that she wouldn't experience the dream again. “Or, if you do have the dream again, you know it isn't real know. You can tell yourself that it is a dream, that it isn't real, and wake yourself up,” his voice was soft and reassuring.

Naruto sniffed, rubbing at her eyes. “It wasn't real?”

“No, it wasn't real,” Sarutobi answered gently rubbing a hand against the girl's back. He could only imagine having chakra laced nightmares, like a self cast genjutsu. He felt bad for the child. “Just remember, if it happens again to focus your mind and know that it isn't real.”

“It wasn't real,” Naruto repeated with a conviction she was trying to convince herself of.

-/-

**Author's Note:**

> So, what do we think? 
> 
> It is a bit of a slow build to get to the jumping point in the summary. 
> 
> Your feedback helps me fight the inner critic that tells me what I write isn't good enough and causes me to sit on it for months. 
> 
> I would really like your thoughts. Any questions you have. Guesses are always welcome. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! <3


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